Drinking from a firehose

RIP/TOA (relief in place/transfer of authority) continues at a very fast pace. There is a lot to learn very quickly. Not only do you have to learn who’s who on the American Division Advisor team, but you also have to learn who’s who on the coalition partner unit, what is expected of you in the short term, and to make it even more complicated, you have to quickly learn the Iraqis, the units, their battlespace, their personalities, and their missions. And you have to be able to hear what the Iraqi is saying, and then hear what the interpreter thinks the Iraqi is saying, and then you have to guess what it is the Iraqi’s point is. Then you formulate an answer. This job is 99% mental, which is more than I bargained or planned for. Most days I am mentally spent. At least I’m not doing it under fire. A five minute meeting will take one to two hours. The Iraqis will incessantly ask you for stuff… Today a battalion commander asked me to get the Americans at Rustamaya to give him some vehicles he turned in to them back in 2005. That is pretty much a pipe dream, but this guy expects me to be able to do it. In fact, he's stoned if he thinks I'm going to get success on that one-- The unit that is there has been replaced at least three times by now. Every conversation you have to quickly process what it is the guy wants or is asking for, (and they are always asking for something) and be able to respond in a manner that does not promise anything, yet is a helpful enough answer to where he sees and solves his own problem. I call it mental gymnastics. We're not here to give them stuff, we are here to make their systems run more effectively so we can go home. But I guess they don't get that.

The Iraqis are making a lot of progress. On our drive today, commerce was happening everywhere. People waived, traffic moved, and things were happening. There was a lot of new construction in Mahmudiya. The Iraqi units regularly find caches of explosives and ammunition, but there is some debate as to how long the caches have been around. The quality and quantity of IEDs found has dropped dramatically. Maybe they are finally running out of ammo, and maybe we’ve captured or killed all of the smart guys who were providing guidance and leadership. The enemies of a democratic Iraq are on the ropes, but they still exist, and if the Iraqis are not vigilant, they will return.

So far I enjoy the challenge of the job. Our team is good, and we are finally getting settled in. My Iraqi unit is good, and I think we can make it better. I have a lot to learn-- And I better become a quick study… Quickly.

Our patrol base continues to improve. The Division team guys upped the water request, so we shouldn’t run out of water anymore (that’s what they say…). They will deliver the new dining facility this weekend (to replace the one that burned down), and our team house continues to improve. All we need now is electricity in our CHUs (containerized housing units-- where we sleep) and that is supposed to be coming in about a week. Hope it stays warm...

On another note, today we had to come up to Camp Liberty, which is probably the biggest base in Iraq. It is stupid huge, and the people here aren't fighting the same kind of war we are. They are using their pistols for paperweights. Some spend an entire year here and never step outside the wire. We had to get some stuff at the PX today, and it was amazing to see some of the things they sell here, most of which are of no use to me where I am. Say, for example, a frozen decorated cake, used for birthdays and celebrations and such. The chow halls here are huge and overflowing; we could abolish hunger in Africa with the amount of chow over here. It's a wonder the war costs $12 billion a month. One thing's for sure: When we do decide to get out, it's going to take a long, long time to get all this crap home.

That's about it. In proofreading this post, I sound negative, but I am fairly upbeat. A bit overwhelmed at the amount and speed that I have to learn, but overall upbeat. Sorry for the lack of pictures; our network doesn't exactly zip at lightning speeds. I'll try to get some up of the camp.

Hope you are well-- take care.
Ron